Crystalline Conflict

Crystalline Conflict PvP duties pit teams Astra and Umbra against one another in tactical confrontations. Each team may have up to five players, for a total of ten match participants. Teams are challenged to maintain control over a tactical crystal, which must be transported to a designated location amid the heat of battle.

There are three arenas currently available for Crystalline Conflict matches─the Palaistra, the Volcanic Heart, and Cloud Nine.

Requirements

Crystalline Conflict is open to those who have completed the quest A Pup No Longer for their Grand Company.

After unlocking Crystalline Conflict, proceed to the following quest for an explanation of relevant duties and rules of engagement.

• The Crystal (Line's) Call

Rules

The rules of engagement for Crystalline Conflict are outlined below.

Duty	Details
Level Requirement	One or more jobs at level 30 or above
Time Limit	5 mins

Entering the Arena

• Casual Matches

Results have no bearing on your ranking in Crystalline Conflict.

• Custom Match

Results have no bearing on your ranking in Crystalline Conflict. Register with two parties of five players via the Duty Finder. There are no restrictions on party composition.

• Ranked Matches

Register solo via the Duty Finder. Results will influence your ranking in Crystalline Conflict.

Role Requirements

There are no role requirements for Crystalline Conflict parties. However, matchmaking will ensure that no two players have the same job within a single party.

Basic Rules

Beginning the Match

Participants will be divided into Team Astra and Team Umbra and transported to their respective starting points. After a 30-second waiting period, the match will begin.

Chatting

Only Quick Chat is available during casual and ranked matches. Custom matches allow for standard chat features in addition to Quick Chat.

Retaliation

Incapacitated players will be returned to their base after a short delay, where they will be allowed to rejoin combat with their HP and MP fully restored and all action recast timers reset.

Level and Item Level

When participating in Crystalline Conflict, all player attributes will be updated to their PvP counterparts.

Restrictions

The use of the following is prohibited while participating in Crystalline Conflict:

• Class or job changes
• Chocobo companions
• Mounts
• Teleportation
• Return
• Items
• Gear changes

Abandoning Matches

Players who abandon a Crystalline Conflict match (not including players who join a match in progress or are vote kicked) will receive a penalty. Players so penalized will be unable to use the Duty Finder for 30 minutes.

Players inactive for over a period of two minutes will automatically be removed from play.

• Players who remain inside the duty with less than the required number of party members, or are participating in a custom match, will not receive a penalty.

Victory Conditions

To win, one team must move the tactical crystal from the center of the field to the goal point. If neither team accomplishes this during the time limit, the match will proceed into overtime.

The team with a greater progress score must keep the entire opposing team out of the bounds of the tactical crystal for three seconds to win. The team with a lesser progress score must beat the opponent's progress score during overtime to win.

• If neither team can fulfill the overtime victory requirements, the match will end in a draw.

The Tactical Crystal

The all-important object placed at the arena's centerpoint is called the "tactical crystal."

The tactical crystal will remain bound until the first 30 seconds of the match have passed. Once the tactical crystal is unbound, a ring will appear at its base. Should one team be fully in control of this ring─with no members of the opposing team present within its bounds─that team will be able to move the crystal.

Transporting the Tactical Crystal

The crystal can only be moved along the crystal line─a dedicated path within the arena.

Its movement will be halted when combatants from both teams are present within its bounds. When combatants from neither team are present, the crystal will move back toward the centerpoint.

Tactical Crystal Speed

Should the tactical crystal be wrestled from your team's control, and you manage to reclaim it, the crystal will travel faster when moving back through a stretch of the line your team has moved it once before.

• Even if your team has failed to claim the crystal for the entirety of the match, once your team has gained control of the crystal, it will move at increased speed until it has returned to the centerpoint.

Checkpoints and Progression

Checkpoints can be found halfway between the centerpoint and each team's goal. Upon reaching a checkpoint, the tactical crystal will stop moving.

The team attempting to clear the checkpoint must remain in the crystal's ring until the Clear Progress gauge reaches 100%. The gauge will only increase so long as that team holds control of the ring. A greater majority of party members in the ring will hasten the gauge's progression.

Should the opposing team have a greater majority at any point, the tactical crystal will begin moving toward the opposing team's goal. However, any progress made in clearing the checkpoint will not be lost.

Advanced Rules

Crystalline Conflict arenas include a variety of tactically useful elements to make matches more dynamic.

Sprint Zones

The Palaistra and Volcanic Heart feature unique paths suited to running. Entering these "sprint zones" will grant the effect of Swift Sprint, greatly increasing player movement speed.

Jump Glyphs

Cloud Nine is equipped with jump glyphs. Stepping on a jump glyph will rapidly transport you to a specific location on the field.

Arena Events: Eruption

The Volcanic Heart periodically erupts, scattering self-destructing bombs across the field. Those who fail to avoid their explosive radii will take damage. Bomb cores will remain at the site of bombs' destruction, granting those who acquire them bonuses to damage dealt and limit gauge increases.

Arena Events: Turbulence

Players cast up into the air by Cloud Nine's periodic turbulence will take damage upon being returned unceremoniously to the ground. However, they may acquire black chocobo feathers while in the air, granting them a soft landing and nullifying the damage. The locations of black chocobo feathers are indicated by markers on the ground. Those who do not wish to go flying can negate the effects of turbulence by using Guard. Turbulence also leaves behind a twister at the site where it occurred, and can be confirmed on the map. Stumbling into these twisters will result in damage and knockback.

Medicine Kits

Each arena comes equipped with medicine kits. Accessing these kits will restore 50% of a player's HP, and each can only be claimed by one player.

• Medicine kits cannot be claimed by those whose HP is at 100%.
• Each kit can only be claimed by one player.
• Once a kit has been claimed, a replacement will be generated after a set period of time has passed.

Seasons

Seasons are periods of time in which players compete to earn the highest tier and Crystal Credit ranks possible. Announcements will be made on the Lodestone marking the beginning and ending of each season.

At the end of each season, players of sufficient rank will receive season rewards. Participants' current ranks are displayed on the Lodestone during a season. Please note that ranks will be reset between seasons.

Ranked Matches

The Bronze through Diamond tiers are divided further into "risers." The number of risers per tier varies.

Tier

A player's tier represents their standing in the hierarchy of Crystalline Conflict. Unlike the Feast, players cannot be demoted over the course of a season. As such, players will retain the current standing even when losing a match immediately after promotion to a higher tier.

Risers

The Bronze through Diamond tiers are divided further into "risers." The number of risers per tier varies.

Rising Stars

The new PvP ranking system uses Rising Stars, rather than ratings, to indicate progress within the Unranked through Diamond tiers. When you win a ranked match, you will gain one Rising Star. Similarly, a loss will remove one Star. Once you have earned the maximum Rising Stars for one riser, an additional win will allow you to move up a riser.

• Winning a match when you have three Rising Stars will allow you to move up a riser, starting with one Rising Star.

• After reaching the top riser for a tier and earning three Rising Stars, an additional win will advance you to the next tier, starting at the lowest riser with one Rising Star.

• Winning three matches in a row will apply a streak bonus, netting you two Rising Stars per win. Earning a streak bonus while you possess two Rising Stars will allow you to move up a riser or tier depending on your current overall standing.

• While it is possible to move down to a lower riser upon losing a match, you will never drop down to a lower tier during a given season.

• Moreover, you cannot lose Rising Stars while you are unranked.

The Crystal Tier

There is one tier above Diamond─the Crystal tier. When ranked in this tier, your skill level will be reflected by your Crystal Credit, rather than Rising Stars. Your Crystal Credit score will increase by 100 upon winning a match, and decrease by 100 after losing. Significant differences between your team and the opposing team's average Credit will increase the amount your score changes upon a win or loss. Streak bonuses do not apply to Crystal Credit.

Rewards

When a Crystalline Conflict match has ended, players will receive the following rewards:

• PvP EXP (except custom matches): 500 for a win, 250 for a loss
• Series EXP (except custom matches): 900 for a win, 700 for a loss
• Wolf Marks (except custom matches): 500 for a win, 250 for a loss
• PvE EXP: about 4% of a level for a win, about 2% of a level for a loss
•  20 Allagan Tomestones of Poetics (if above level 50)

Indirect rewards

Main article: Garo

Winning PvP matches while wearing a "Makai" title (acquired from the Disreputable Priest for wearing a full set of Makai gear) counts towards the   Fame Fatale,   Frontline Fury, and   Furious Fatalities achievements, which reward mounts.

Lore

A dazzling array of arenas await at the Grand Companies' glamour-woven tactical training grounds. Designed with adventurers in mind, these strategic confrontations of but few competitors make for a thrilling challenge for newcome pups and Wolves' Den regulars alike.

At the end of the crystal line, who will stand victorious? Will it be you?

Images

• 

  The Palaistra

• 

  The Volcanic Heart

• 

  Cloud Nine

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PvP